pic by PBS Hawaii.org

Volunteer for a nonprofit.  Show me you care.  I am not waiting too long for you.

From Papa:

My son wonders why other adults do not spend time with kids volunteering.  There are always more kids than adults.  He feels bad for the kids whom have to be on their own.  He says that adults say Blah Blah Blah Blah for why they do not have the time.  I have found some of the busiest people to be the most resourceful to volunteer.  So if you have time to watch TV or go out for a beer you have time to volunteer. 

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pic via Nine Inch Nachos V

Stanford Group owners indicted for another ponzy scheme worth billions.  You have got to ask is there any financial institution I can trust? 

Credit Union as nonprofit banks is one place where investors can not manipulate outcomes for themselves.  Credit Unions do not have investors, only its customers.  Those whom are its customers are it interested members.   Just a little advice to making decisions for your banking needs.  Check out the corporate goverance of the financial institution you want to place your money with.  Find out what their mission is and where their profits go. 

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I have not found anyone who thinks a person should not have Health Care coverage.  So I ask why is it so difficult to make people responsible.  There is one clear word to describe why,  FEAR!   Fear that they will be the one to carry the burden.  So I would to introduce you to another F word.  Fairness, in the placing of responsibility for health care.

Individuals are responsible to live healthy and to take responsibility for their actions when they do not.  Therefore, when it is clear that actions such as smoking or being over weight cause health problems it would be fair that the individual would bear a higher responsibility towards the cost for their actions.  It is not reasonable for anyone not to pay something towards health care.  Everyone gets sick eventually, so lets not leave anyone to opt out of their responsibility.

Businesses pay taxes which go towards many government services which includes Medicare and Medicaid.  In many cases businesses pay a level of health care for a percentage of their employees.   It is fair that for each employee a certain amount of money goes towards these costs as a tax .  The one thing about the medicare tax and employer tax is that they are predictable and do not sneak up on you with sudden increases and everyone pays.

The medical field has created a system where redundancy and second guessing is the rule.  The ”what if syndrome ” to protect one from lawsuits has become the extremely contagious illness.  It has been estimated that 30% of the health care costs are related to the extreme feeling of fear of catching the lawsuit bug.  Medicine has to be able to treated with reasonable expectation.  Those expectations require government to set the parameters and for the medical field to follow.  For those areas where risk is evident, one way to lower risk is to have more decisions made by a team.

So I would promote that all factions play together regardless of the risk.

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pic by anabananna

Nonprofits struggle to balance public good and good business practices.  I wanted to congratulate Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in Manhattan New York for a strict adherence to conservative investing.  This college is a no tuition school and is nearing completion on a new $150 million academic building.  Their conservative approach has allowed them to keep their endowment at or slightly above last year.

Nonprofits have to remember that their not investing on behalf of risk taking investors, but for the financial long term health of the organization.  Consistent low risk returns build an organization.  The higher the risk a nonprofit takes with its money the more likely the intended outcome can fail.  When nonprofits are looking for that higher return the difference between low risk and high risk should be allocated to ongoing and one time expenses.  The higher the risk the more the expense should be assigned to one time expenses.  A nonprofits management and Board need to allocate their budgets accordingly to prevent in the future the impact of decreasing endowments.

The other good practice is to budget with a margin.  When building a budget with program the staff takes two steps.  First, allocate costs based on expected revenues. Second, reduce the budget by three percent, have a plan on how to produce the same amount of outcome for the reduced dollars.  This will create a practice efficient at budgeting and building a reserve.

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pic by Crabz

Nonprofits are looking to control their business outcome.  As nonprofits look to use evidence base practices and technology to promote themselves and the services they offer they risk losing control.  The main loss of control is really about controlling what anyone can see. However, use negative results to show positive results.  It can show where improvement has occurred and over what period of time.  The hiding of data and letting technology become the obstacle to controlling a nonprofits direction shows an organization in need of change first. 

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Rain does not stop me from enjoying myself.  I just get wet. It is the adults whom are complaining.

From Papa:

While Spring can be a time of unpredictable weather nonprofits can use Spring to invite participation with their organization.  After a winter period of being indoors more people look for a reason to get out and do something.  This is especially after setting New Year resolutions that they have not acted upon.  So let Spring be the time to grow an experience working with kids. 

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You can explore the outside nature but you can do it in school by learning new things and mess around in your brain.

From Papa: 

Looking for an adventure. Nonprofits have plenty to offer.  Employees should check out Guidestar for a program near them.  To plan activities nonprofits can utilize other nonprofits programs for those they serve. 

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From Papa:

A successful nonprofit makes new friends and knows how to keep old ones.

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My brother and I are happy smile and feel good having fun with our parents and do not have to spend money.  I sometimes ask why they are always working.  They explain it is like going to school.  I guess that is ok since I have to always go to school  even when I do not want to. 

From Papa:

The bottom line for youth is enjoying activities with people that they consider key in their life.  This can be reading a story, walking a neighborhood, playing a game.  The measure is the amount of quality time spent with the youth where they are the focus of the connection.  Nonprofits have many volunteers whom can create that connection for the thousands of youth whom lack significant adult mentors.   The song “I want to be just like you Dad” is more true than false. 

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pic via Graela

Nonprofits who work with youth and provide mentoring need to provide better evidence base tracking to show the results of their services. (assuming they have created the best outcomes.)  The lack of evidence causes mentoring programs to be adversely hit during times of economic recessions. The number of youth in the country who lack a father due to the high incidence of divorce is shocking.  Divorce is above 56%.  The science has shown that most youth need a connection to their fathers to be able to develop to their full potential.

Fatherhood comes with responsibility and being accountable to the never ending questions.  Mentoring programs just might be what insurers to cover to make more successful, healthy, well adjusted youth.

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